Thursday, November 18, 2010

It's one of those days that when I walked into my building, heading up to bed, listening to a poppy song on my ipod that I literally, LITERALLY, spun a turn in the entry hall on my tippy toe-my other leg swinging around in a whimsical kind of way, only to turn around and see someone else coming into the building. I composed myself and pressed the up button, hoping he'd take the stairs. We both entered the elevator (which by the way has a sparkling floor and a mirrored ceiling so you feel like youre in a mini rocket capsule) and I felt giddy that I had a little secret swirling about my head.

1. people are interesting and fabulous and passionate. Yannick, another student in my Croatian program was reminding me not too long ago that there are 6 billion people in the world. I can't imagine each of those individuals bursting with potential, but you know it is true!

1.a. Today I was doing some researching/interviews/drinking lots and lots and lots of coffee and one of the gentlemen I was speaking with said "i think the word impossible should be erased from every dictionary in the world" ...

2. It is good to be challenged.

Today the people I spoke with had various, almost polar, points of views from feeling like they had no opportunity to the idea you can achieve anything you want, if you know what you want. It is always a spectrum.

[when i was re-reading this i realized it sounds like I am in love, but I am not. I just adore the neighborhood I live in, my cozy room, having good interviews, feeling productive, phonetics class, and podcasts. I do not adore, eating too many pastries, not having enough hours in the day, being rushed, and waking up late.]

Monday, November 15, 2010

daydream (noun) A dreamlike musing or fantasy while awake, especially of the fulfillment of wishes or hopes.Synonyms: air castle, castle in Spain, castle in the air, oneirism, reverieUsage: He escaped into daydreams of heroic men and beautiful women.

Constructing a conversation-realizing I need to be more organized-oh thats why they made us write literature reviews all of college-notes on things I am reading-unless you are interested in gender and nationalism Id skip this sketch-book like entry, this attempt to publically acknowledge i am not simply A BUMP ON A LOG.

Currently reading - GENDER AND NATIONALISM

Intro by Tamar Mayer

notes:

Nationalism is the excerise of internal hegemony, the exclusive empowerment of those who share a sense of belonging to the same "imagined community"

Because nationalism, gender and sexuality are all sociallay and culturally constructed, they frequently play an important role in constructing one another-by invoking and helping to construct the "us" versus "them" distinction and the exclusion of the other

A nation "is a soul, a spiritual principle" (Renan 1990:19) a "moral consciousness" (Renan 1990:20) which its members believe must be maintained at all times and at all costs.

Who I am is connected to who the nation is; that is my "ego" is often inseparable from the "ego" of the nation to which I belong and which helps to define my identity.

Culture and ritual are centeral strategies through which the nation projects itself inwardly, as well as to the outside world and through which it mobilizes its members.

About Me

This is a place for playful exploration, rants better suited for wandering eyes than inattentive ears, and a public sketch-book of sorts. Please forgive any typos, grammatical errors, and my many editorial mishaps. thanx.

In a new place, the unconscious mind runs along memories' trails in an attempt to restore equilibrium, latching on to clues that will explain the dislocation, and searching for a way to create a predictable routine that returns to a person his or her identity. - Alexandra Fuller

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ker-plunk "is not an official Department of State website, and the views and information presented are my own and do not represent the Fulbright Program or the Department of State."